


What We Do Not See

by Uchiyama (DanelleSepthon)



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: F/F, F/M, Families of Choice, Found Family, Injury Recovery, M/M, Major Character Injury, Paralysis, Paraplegia, Permanent Injury, Piers Deserves Love, Piers Needs a Hug, Pokemon Gym Leader(s), Pokemon League
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22218673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanelleSepthon/pseuds/Uchiyama
Summary: A diversion off the game, beginning right after Rose Tower. A fight breaks out as Gloria and Hop try to rescue Leon. Piers tries to assist. Nothing goes well for anyone involved.(Piers gets injuried and realizes that he has more friends then he thought.)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 119





	What We Do Not See

Marnie was getting anxious, that much was clear to Piers. They’d been standing around at the base of Rose Tower, waiting to make sure Hop and Gloria got out with Leon in one peace. Team Yell was still around the city, doing their best to keep the peace. Granted, peace wasn’t exactly their strong suit, but they were doing their best with crowd control.

“Those two are certainly taking a while…” his sister sighed. “They’d better hurry it up or they’ll give you more worry lines.”

He laughed as he played with his collar. “Me? Ah, I don’t think I can get any more… Don’t stress too much about ‘em though, sis. Those two are pretty tough and they have strong partners on their side. I think they’ll be alright on their own.”

That seemed to calm her a bit, if only just a tad. Even with the rough situation they were in (the whole Chairman-Rose-Kidnapped-Leon thing), Piers did feel some solace in still knowing how to soothe his sister’s concerns. She used to be such a high-strung kid when they were little, so it was great watching Marnie branching out. She’d make a great gym leader, if she’d agree to take on his position. Now that she’d lost in the semi-finals, as tragic as that was, maybe he’d be able to sway her and get Spikemuth the kind of leader it deserved.

Marnie let Morpeko out, just to give her hands something to do. Little rodent scurried about for a second or two both scampering up onto her shoulders. He watched her smile and scratch the Pokemon’s chin idly. Piers was happy to have brought the two together so long ago, even if the thing could be a little hangry devil sometimes.

The sound of the tower’s glass doors swung open behind the pair as Leon, Hop, and Gloria finally made their escape from Rose Tower. The siblings turned to greet them but were quick to see they were not yet victorious. Right on their heels was the man himself, Chairman Rose. His eyes seemed colder than usual, with pure fury in each step he took. The champion seemed intent on keeping a faster pace with the younger trainers in front of him, a smart move if Piers had to say. It was a fraternal instinct, an older brother thing. Even if Gloria and Hop weren’t his own flesh and blood, he sure as hell grabbed them both and put himself in front of them when they were close enough. 

What seemed to be Macro Cosmos employees started pouring out behind their boss, forming a nice sized gang. Piers grabbed Leon by the elbow to gain his attention. He’d never been particularly close to Galar’s beloved champion, had barely even spoken to him in all his years working with him, but he could see that familiarity wasn’t a necessary concern for the moment.

“What’s goin’ on, mate? Are we gonna battle these gents?” he asked as he ushered the teens away from growing crowd. Leon seemed a bit confused to see him, obviously hadn’t been told he and Marnie were outside. 

The champion offered a quick nod as a greeting. “There is something going on with the chairman. He’s plotting something I don’t totally understand and he wants to delay the tournament so he can do… something sketchy. I’ll explain later.” Leon paused, regarding the circling crowd. “I don’t want to fight. We don’t need to fight.”

Rose stood on the stairs above them, looking down. Piers had never liked the chairman, always thought his business was a bit fishy and his eyes a bit hollow. When he’d first joined the league, Rose had always called him ‘lad’ right until he snapped in his face over it. The man had all the power in Galar, both literally and figuratively. If he wanted he could have given every single person in Spikemuth a palace, but he would rather spend his time in the cities that already thought he was a hero. Seeing Rose scowling down on them seemed to just confirm all his suspicions.

“Ah, the Spikemuth siblings, I must say I wasn’t expecting you two to be part of this rescue party,” he said. “But I must insist that Leon return to our meeting. I know I can still convince you to see my way. The children can go free, of course. Perhaps Piers would be so kind as to escort them back to the hotel. Leon, I implore you to simply hear me out.”

“I think he'd listen to you toddle on long enough, actually,” Piers interjected. “Man’s been missing all day! If you can waste a day keeping him captive in your tower, you can give him a day to compete in the tournament that’s been planned months in advance. Besides that, I don’t think he’d listen to a word ya sayin’ if you're forcing him to listen.”

His words seemed to only further annoy Rose, leading him to take a step forward. “You have no place in this discussion. You speak a tough game for a man who can’t even keep his own city afloat. I’ve allowed you to play your silly games in the past, refusing to move your gym  _ and  _ insulting my company, but that doesn’t mean I respect you in this instance. Shut up, and know your place.”

Silence followed his outburst that had surprised even some of his employees. On Piers' part, he had maintained a mostly calm expression throughout. It wasn’t the first time or the last time he’d been chewed out by an authority figure, though this was a particularly sharp one. His companions seemed much more offended then he was, perhaps hurt by association. Piers didn’t think anything Rose said was wrong, but Leon appeared deeply shocked and upset by Rose’s words. He thought he heard Hop make some kind of indignant sound, but Piers himself held the teens back from doing anything stupid. 

Things were starting to seem a bit hairy. The men and women on Rose’s payroll weren’t drawing Pokeballs, but they all seemed on the offense. Leon, however, seemed oblivious to the violent route the scene was about to take.

“Chairman, please, you’re worked up. I get it. But, let me say right now that I am sworn to protect Galar from  _ all _ threats. I am this nation’s champion. You have a whole League of strong gym leaders like Piers that feel the same.” Rose crossed his arms with clear contempt, but Leon was quick to raise his hands in peace. “I’m asking you to be patient, Rose. Please. Like I said in the tower, just give me one day to finish this Championship and I will  _ personally _ help you solve this problem of yours. I swear it.”

“This is  _ everyone’s  _ problem, Leon!” 

Piers saw it coming. He knew what anger looked like on people and the chairman was seething. Handfuls of staff members were gathering around them in a crowd, angry scowls on their faces as they nodded along with their boss’ words. Now, he knew he was just a simple gym leader, not even a particularly good one either, but not even his ragtag team of groupies agreed with everything he said. They were gathering like an actual gang, like those Flare grunts that had been bugging Kalos before. In Piers’ eye, anyone with a following should be someone to watch out for. He was getting worried things would come to blows rather than a battle. With fire in his eyes, Rose was walking towards them with a vendetta in mind.

“Oi. Stay behind us, ya?” he whispered to the trio. It was normally like trying to corral wild Wooloo, but thankful the kids seemed more willing to listen when under pressure. 

But then, out of nowhere, Piers felt something slam into his skull like a hammer. It made the world stop for a second as his knees gave out and his face was suddenly covered in dirt and blood. He’d fallen to the ground in a heap at his attackers' feet and immediately knew it was a terrible place to be.

Rose threw a good punch, that was for sure. He was way stronger then Piers would have ever thought. The guy absolutely had broken his nose, no question about it. Now with his victim on the ground, the chairman had taken to doling out powerful kicks and stomps. Those expensive leather shoes of his were really heavy. Damn, even with the gut Rose was buff, but that was really the last thing he should have been thinking about as the man kicked him again in the ribs. 

Still, Piers had grown up on the streets. He was proud to say that he’d tamed Spikemuth just enough to make it livable, but before that it had been a much nastier place to live. He’d been in many a fight, lost some won some. He could take a beating and hopefully would make it out of this one in one piece. Chaos was reigning around them where Leon and the employees were actively throwing hands. The poor champion clearly hadn’t been expecting a literal fight, but he was a big enough guy that he was able to hold his own. Lucky for Piers it seemed that Rose wanted to dispatch him quickly and move on. He and a few of his goons beat Piers onto the grassy lawn face first, kicking and punching with great vigor. Hopefully, they’d get bored of him and move on so he could make sure Marnie and the others were okay. He could make this workout.

But then, one of his attackers stomped hard onto his spine and there was a snap. 

It was loud to the point that even Rose made a face at it and backed away with a strange look. The feeling was… different. That final stomp that had been sharp, properly intense, and it left Piers’ body screaming in pain. His other wounds hurt but they weren’t enough to mask what he was suddenly feeling in his lower half. Pain, oh Arceus the pain. It overpowered everything else. He couldn’t help but to scream, but to cry out in pain. 

Above him, Piers heard Leon let out a battle cry as he tackled Rose to the ground. He tried to raise himself up to help, despite the spinning in his brain, but his arms were like limp putty, couldn’t hold him up. He’d always heard stories of people getting great adrenaline boosts when in pain, but he wasn’t getting squat. All Piers could manage was to turn his head away from the grass he’d landed in so as to save a bit of his pride. Leon’s face was bleeding, but he was a much bigger guy then Piers and wouldn’t go down so easily. 

The kids were screaming at Rose and his men to stop, some particularly praiseworthy profanity coming from Marnie. What a doll. Leon seemed to still be on his feet, though Piers could see he wasn’t steady on his feet. He needed a hand, Piers could hear more than he could see, but his legs just wouldn’t work. He was being to realize something was properly wrong, but it wasn’t the time to worry about that quite yet. A proper fight was beginning.  


With a groan, Piers forced himself up an excruciating inch to see if the kids were in one piece. Thankfully, all three seemed alright, if not a bit worse for wear. Hop, in all of his wildness, had taken off his shoes and had been trying to force back Rose’s encroaching staff, while Gloria and her devilish Intelleon shot water out at Rose where he was fighting Leon. There had been a terrifying moment where Piers thought Marnie was missing from the scene, but he was quick to spot her on the back of a staff member, absolutely pounding the life out of him with her fists. It was great to see. Made him almost content to just die in peace on the ground if his baby sister was doing such a bang-up job of kicking butt. 

He let his head fall back down onto the grass with a huff. Everything still hurt, but Piers could see there wasn’t much more he was going to be able to do in this fight. How appropriate was that? The most useless gym leader was taken out of the picture right off the bat. Piers couldn't help but beat himself up a bit, even if he knew it was counterproductive. Still, he could think of one way to help the situation that would hopefully do some good.  


The sound of the operator’s voice filled the courtyard quickly, everyone quick to notice the echo of Piers' phone. Just like on the playground, as soon as someone threatens to be a tattletale the fun stops. Piers could see Rose wipe some blood from his face and grab the arm of a security guard. His hearing was a bit fuzzy at the moment, but he could only assume they were sounding a retreat. Uniformed staff in various states of injury started to peter off till they were finally gone. As soon as all of them were gone, Piers hung up, not wanting to actually cause a scene.  


Piers felt the pressure in the air dissipate. One of the kids let out a long sigh behind him alongside the sound of approaching footsteps. Marnie’s familiar hands shoved at his side as if to rouse him. The scene reminded him of when he used to play dead on her when they were kids and she’d cry when he didn’t get up right away. Arceus, he wished he could feel his legs so that he could get into a slightly less humiliating position.

“You okay, bro?” she asked as she tried to flip him over. “Piers, get up. You’re scaring me. Get up!”

He groaned but turned to face her regardless. “I’m okay, Marn. Hurt like hell, but I’ll live. Might have broken somethin’. Don’t worry about it.”

“What’d they break? Think you can stand?” Leon crouched down next to them, worry growing on his bloodied face. Seemed that Rose did a number on the champion as well, judging by his cut lip and the blood coming from his forehead. “Geez, I can’t believe that actually just happened. I’ve never been in a fistfight before.”

“You did great, champ. Really should ‘em up. Now, I think the best thing to do now is for the kids to run down to the hotel and let the other league members know what’s going on.” Dodging the question seemed like the best option for now. He’d die if Marnie got upset over this and he really hoped it wasn’t anything serious. They’d cure Pokemon paralysis with a potion, so surely this wouldn’t be much different, right? Right. Everything would be fine. He just had to convince Marnie and her friends that. “Leon’ll help me to a doc while you all get help. I’ll be alright, kay? ‘Sides, Gloria’s gotta rest up so she can beat the big champ tomorrow. Eh? We can’t let that weirdo ruin tomorrow.”

Said young trainer perked up in surprise at her name. Gloria had always been a quiet kind of threat, at least in Piers’ eyes. She scratched at his chin as she palmed one of her Pokeballs on her belt. “We’re in no rush, especially not on my account. You and Leon both need a nurse right quick.”

“Gloria’s right,” Hop cut in anxiously. “You look pretty rough and Lee’s not much better.”

Leon scratched at his chin, wincing when he touched a cut on his lip. “They make a point. If we work together we can probably help you onto the monorail and the Pokemon Center isn’t far off. They’ll patch us up there.” The champion reached over and went to help Piers flip over. “It’s not too far. Maybe we can get some people in the square to help us over.”

“ _ Don’t!” _ Piers shouted in agony when Leon put pressure on his back. It was like hot knives were being stabbed into his body. This outburst succeeding in making Leon back off, at the very least. Marnie was worried, immediately. He could see it in her eyes that she knew he was hiding something. He took a deep breath and tried to force himself up again, but both Hop and Gloria tried to keep him from moving. “I’m fine, I promise. I just- I said before I thought I’d broken something. I’ll be alright.”

They were skeptical. He could see it in their looks, feel it on the tip of their tongues. Yes, Piers’ body hurt, but he knew no pain worse than his sister’s fear. When they were children, he had held Marnie to his chest at night to stave off the cold and to hide her from the dark. He was her protector, her guardian. If he was the thing that was upsetting her, he’d never forgive himself. 

Thankfully, though, Leon seemed to understand this rather quickly. Maybe he felt he’d do the same if it was Hop on the other end. The champion bit his lower lip in thought for a moment before giving his own cheek a light slap.

“Okay, okay. Here’s what we’re gonna do,” he said. “If Piers thinks he’s stable enough, I’ll help him down to the Pokemon Center so we can both get fixed up.” The teens started to argue against splitting up, but Leon raised his hand for silence. “It’ll take a bit for us to get down there and it’s almost night anyway. While I help Piers down and figure out what those grunts did to him, you three should go find a police officer or someone else that we can file a report with. By the time you’ve done that, we’ll be with a nurse.”

“But won’t you have trouble getting him down if he can’t walk?” Hop was more fidgety than usual, looking over his brother’s cuts. “You’re not unscathed, Lee. Why don’t one of us stay behind to help?”

The champion put his hand on his brother’s shoulder, giving him a bright smile that shone over the blood. “Hop, I will be fine. It’s all just scratches and bruises. I need you and your friends to make sure the police can get involved before Chairman Rose does something worse than this. Okay, little bro?”

Hop was quiet, but offered a small shrug of acceptance. He and his brother shared a silent moment between each other, a moment together despite the others with them. Piers wondered what they were sharing in the way they were staring. Their relationship was obviously deep, but he couldn’t imagine what was behind such a meaningful look. Any deep-sibling-looks he and his sister shared were usually silent conversations such as her ‘did-you-take-out-the-trash-yet’ glares and his ‘i-was-eating-honey-nut-cheerios-all-day-sorry’ looks. Hop and Leon were clearly different animals, maybe a bit more distant but still family.

Leon moved to thump his brother playful on the head, breaking the silence. The younger trainer laughed before turning to Gloria. “Alright. We better get going, mate. No time to lose!”

And off he went, his childhood friend grabbed by the hand and dragged behind him into the monorail station.

Marnie hung behind a second, unwilling to leave her crouched position by her brother’s side. After a small pause, she put two fingers on his head, a gentle little pat. “Don’t do anything stupid, ya? Please stay safe.”

He smiled, tilting his head up to her. “Course, Marn. Don’cha worry bout me. You get goin’ now.” With a bit of his saved strength, Piers pressed into her hand with the hope of offering just a little reassurance. She seemed to accept the gesture as she scoffed at him, a normal reaction from here whenever he was publicly affectionate. He knew if he wasn’t in such bad condition Marnie probably would have tried to give him a noogie since he was so low to the ground. 

Marnie ran off to follow Gloria and Hop on to the monorail. Once she was gone and the doors were closed, Leon coughed to make draw Piers’ attention. 

“Okay,” he said as his smile faded from his face. “The kids are gone. What’s wrong? How can I help?”

He fell back to the ground, letting his cheek rest against the grass. “Now, don’t panic, but I can’t feel my legs.”

“What?!”

“I said be cool, man,” Piers huffed, breath rustling the lawn. “If you start freakin’ out, I’m gonna freak out too. It’s prolly nothin’. Might’ve just pulled somethin’. I didn’t want to worry Marn over this if it might just be nothin’.”

Leon wasn’t buying it, clearly, but didn’t seem willing to correct Piers’ hopes. He went quiet for a minute, looking at the bloody marks on his back in thought. Man, he must look like a right mess if it silenced even Leon. But he was just over thinking things. Piers would be fine.

“You- You can’t feel them at all?” The champion finally said after a long pause. “Can you move them your legs even a little bit?”

“Rest of my body hurts way too much,” he shook his head. “Not sure when it went but once they blokes were don’t stompin’ on me, I noticed I couldn’t move. I’m no expert, but I don’t think you can move me on your own. Somethin’ might be up with my spine. Don’t wanna jostle it too much.”

Leon nodded but wasn’t looking at Piers. Instead his focus had turned to the tower behind them, lost in thought. “You’re right on that… Rose is going to pay for this. He can bully me all he wants but no one hurts my friends.”

“Since when are we friends, champ?” he chuckled before being waved off with a light smile.

“I don’t think we’ve ever spoken much before, but we are both members of the League. We need to look out for each other even if we’re competitors, yeah? Plus, you looked after Hop during that whole fiasco, so I owe you one.” Standing up, Leon pulled out his phone and started dialing. “I’m going to call in a favor, see if I can’t get Milo to come help out. I know he drove up and he has one of those folding stretchers in his truck. Can’t make fun of him for always being prepared now, I guess. Figured you’d rather not make a big scene with an ambulance if it can be avoided.”

Piers tried to shift a bit and make himself more comfortable, but immediately regretted it from the shooting pain in his back. “I appreciate the thought. Don’t have many big fans these days, but I’d still rather not have my name plastered all over the news just because some office workers gave me a beat down. Plus it would definitely get back to Marnie…” 

“Let’s not worry about Marnie, for a bit, okay?” Leon looked down for a moment, a touch of sad in his eyes. “I’m more concerned about your health, mate. Just hold tight and we’ll get you some help.”

He was having a bit of trouble breathing, but was still able to take a deep, pained breath. So this was how his day was going to end. Despite Leon’s words, as he was on the phone Piers couldn’t help but worry about Marnie. It was a very common train of thought for him anyway, so it wasn’t much of a surprise. Piers didn’t want to think that his injuries were serious, couldn’t imagine a world without the use of his legs, but his greatest concern was how he could protect Marnie if he couldn’t protect himself. It just wasn’t a part of his plan. He was a terrible gym leader and a mediocre entertainer, but Piers took his job as an older brother seriously. Marnie was going to become the next gym leader of Spikemuth and she might need his help adjusting into the position. Plus, she was still dealing with her loss in the semi-finals. She needed him! This whole situation wasn’t right. He couldn’t be bleeding out on a Wyndon lawn when his sister still needed her brother. He kept telling himself that like a mantra, like an oath, until Milo arrived and they travelled to the hospital. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was written majorly for a friend, not for a wider audience, so I don't actually know if anyone will enjoy reading it. I didn't take myself too seriously writing it but if anyone actually liked it I'll write more in the future. The idea behind this came from some articles I was reading about handicapped Pokemon go players having issues using the app and I was curious how a wheelchair-bound individual would operate in the Pokemon universe. Piers is my muse because I break everything I love. I hope you enjoyed.


End file.
